Is Wietelmann a Jewish name?

This is my grandmother's maiden name. I recently met a German girl (where the name originates) who insists that the name is Jewish. DOes anyone know? I'd be fascinated and thrilled to discover that I had Jewish ancestry!

Is Wietelmann a Jewish name?
Hello, cousin. I am a direct descendent of Heinrich Wietelmann, most likely the American emigrant referenced in the earlier answer to your question. He was born in Herne, Westfalen, Germany and arrived in America on June 20, 1880. It's an uncommon last name and although there are some Wietelmans with a single "n", we believe that all Wietelmanns in the U.S. are his descendents. It's probable that the origin of the name is simply someone who chose to call himself "man from Wietel".





While it's entirely possible that we have a Jewish ancestry somewhere, the Wietelmann branch in America has Christian roots, specifically from the Lutheran tradition.
Reply:It can be. It doesn't have to be.





There were Jews all over Europe in the middle ages when people started using surnames. If someone was John's son (Johnson) or worked as a Baker (Baker) or his arm was strong (Armstrong) or he was abnormally tall (Little - some serfs has a puckish sense of humor) or lived by a hill (Hill), he might take that surname if he was Christian, Jewish or a Druid holdout, for that matter.





Some occupations (Cantor) are Jewish. If you run across someone named Harold KosherButcher, he's probably Jewish too. Few Jews would be named John Christian, or Harold St. John.





Most of the rest of the European surnames can be Jewish or Christian.





If you do some research and find out you ARE Jewish, don't start bragging abut it until you are in graduate school, and not in a pussycat field like "Art History", either; Law, Medicine, Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Being a CPA (not a book-keeper) would count. So would playing first violin on a regional orchestra, or second through fourth in a nationally-known one. Bassoon, piccolo and percussion don't count; too easy, not enough competition.





If you are a member of an armed force that routinely triumphs when outnumbered 3:1, you can start bragging. Some of the visiting instructors at the Special Forces school get kosher meals.
Reply:ANY name can be "Jewish". After the Diaspora, the Jews were scattered all over. After surnames were adopted, the Jews adopted surnames in whatever country they were in, whether Germany, England, France, Spain, Northern Africa, where ever.


See the book, "A History of the Jews in the Modern World" by Howard M. Sachar.





To find out for absolute certainty, go for a DNA test. Include both the mtDNA (female to female) and yDNA (male to male). Mine revealed Ashkenazi, Sephardic, as well as Orthodox Jews in my tree. I used www.familytreedna.com, but there are other sites, of course.
Reply:No, don麓t believe.


Look here, but sorry the page is in German.


http://www.struckmeier-genealogie.de/deu...


http://www.struckmeier-genealogie.de/deu...


A Heinrich Wietelmann born 31. Oct. 1863 of this family emigrated possibly to America


Ask the author of the pages, it seems that he speaks English.
Reply:This name is rare and certainly German. There is no listing for this in the Jewish records in ancestry.com.





Ask your friend what her source is.
Reply:No. This is definitely a German name. Purely a German history.
Reply:yes it most probably is